A low-cost portable spherical directional anemometer for fixed points measurement

We present a novel anemometric system, which could be also suitable for IC integration with MEMS technology. The proposed approach is illustrated at both the design and implementation level, and it allows reliable absolute and relative wind measurement to be obtained for both fixed point or moving vehicles, for instance, on boats. The solution here represents a low-cost, low-power, portable measuring system. The prototype makes use of a fully 3D-printable spherical structure, that acts as an air conveyor, and a differential pressure measuring technique. A preliminary feasibility study has been conducted, strengthened by computational fluid dynamic simulations, and the following measurements on the prototype that has been fabricated have shown promising results. As a result, the test campaign on the prototype has allowed to obtain reliable performance on the wind speed measurement in the range 0–20 m/s and a directional measuring range of 306° with a precision of about ±2.5% and ±3.5% for the wind speed and wind angle, respectively.